The water hyacinth problem and the biological control option in the highland lake region of the upper Nile basin: Uganda's experience

The rapid proliferation and extensive spread of water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Mart) Solms in the highland lakes of the Nile Basin within less than 15 years of introduction into the basin in the 1980s pauses potential environmental and social economic menace if the noxious weed is not controlled soon. The water weed has spread all round Lake Victoria and, in Uganda where infes tation is mos t severe, water hyacinth estimated at 1,330,000 ton smothers over 2,000 ha of the lakeshore (August,1994). Lake Kyoga which already constantly supplies River Nile with the weed is infested with over 570 ha, while over 80% of the river course in Uganda is fringed on either side with an average width of about 5m of water hyacinth. As the impact of infestation with water hyacinth on water quality and availability, transportation by water, fishing activities, fisheries ecology, hydro-power generation etc becomes clear in Uganda, serious discussion is under way on how to control and manage the noxious weed. This paper pauses some of the questions being asked regarding the possible application of mechanical and chemical means to control the water weed.Uganda has already initiated the use of biological control of water hyacinth on Lake Kyoga with a strategy to use two weevils namely Neochetinabruchi and Neochetina eichhorniae. The strategy to build capacity and infrastructure for mass multiplication and deployment of biological control of the weevils in the field developed in Uganda by the Fisheries Research Insti tu te (FIRI) and the Namulonge Agricultural and Animal production Research Insti tute (NAARI) is proposed in outline for evaluation. Plans to deploy this strategy on lake Kyoga are under way

Near-complete transuranic waste incineration in a thorium fuelled pressurised water reactor

The production of long-lived transuranic (TRU) waste is a major disadvantage of fission-based nuclear power. Incineration, and virtual elimination, of waste stockpiles is possible in a thorium (Th) fuelled critical or subcritical fast reactor. Fuel cycles producing a net decrease in TRUs are possible in conventional pressurised water reactors (PWRs). However, minor actinides (MAs) have a detrimental effect on reactivity and stability, ultimately limiting the quality and quantity of waste that can be incinerated. In this paper, we propose using a thorium-retained-actinides fuel cycle in PWRs, where the reactor is fuelled with a mixture of thorium and TRU waste, and after discharge all actinides are reprocessed and returned to the reactor. To investigate the feasibility and performance of this fuel cycle an assembly-level analysis for a one-batch reloading strategy was completed over 125 years of operation using WIMS 9. This one-batch analysis was performed for simplicity, but allowed an indicative assessment of the performance of a four-batch fuel management strategy. The build-up of 233U in the reactor allowed continued reactive and stable operation, until all significant actinide populations had reached pseudo-equilibrium in the reactor. It was therefore possible to achieve near-complete transuranic waste incineration, even for fuels with significant MA content. The average incineration rate was initially around 330 kg per GW th year and tended towards 250 kg per GW th year over several decades: a performance comparable to that achieved in a fast reactor. Using multiple batch fuel management, competitive or improved end-of-cycle burn-up appears achievable. The void coefficient (VC), moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) and Doppler coefficient remained negative. The quantity of soluble boron required for a fixed fuel cycle length was comparable to that for enriched uranium fuel, and acceptable amounts can be added without causing a positive VC or MTC. This analysis is limited by the consideration of a single fuel assembly, and it will be necessary to perform a full core coupled neutronic-thermal-hydraulic analysis to determine if the design in its current form is feasible. In particular, the potential for positive VCs if the core is highly or locally voided is a cause for concern. However, these results provide a compelling case for further work on concept feasibility and fuel management, which is in progress. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

烟田烟蚜茧蜂的活动规律及其对烟蚜的防治效果

田间释放烟蚜茧蜂能很好地抑制烟蚜种群数量的增长。以常规施药烟田、不施药烟田作对照 ,在前期其对烟蚜的相对防效分别为 8.4%和 5 2 .8% ,中期为 6 4.0 %～ 79.0 %和 6 8.6 %～ 82 .3% ,后期为 93.0 %和 93.5 %。放蜂田烟蚜茧蜂成虫喜欢在烟株中下部叶片活动 ,1 3∶0 0～ 1 4∶0 0是其在烟株中下部活动的高峰期。烟蚜茧蜂对烟株下部叶片上烟蚜的较强选择性与烟蚜密度无关 ,下部叶片上的僵蚜数量均显著高于中、上和顶部。 1 3∶0 0～ 1 4∶0 0利用生物农药对烟株上部叶片上的烟蚜进行防治 ,既是烟蚜茧蜂与生物农药集成组装的切合点 ,又是保护利用田间烟蚜茧蜂的有效措施。

生物分子水溶液的Monte Carlo模拟 Ⅲ: 力偏倚抽样法和Metropolis抽样法的比较

用力偏倚(FB)法,由体系的晶体点阵构型出发到达平衡态所需的循环数为Metroplis法的武分之二。为了得到较好的结构信息所需的构型数也仅为后者的五分之二。虽然每个循环所需机时为Metropolis法的1.6倍,仍是一加速收敛的好方法。此外进一步支持了以分子的平移扩散作为判别抽样效率的判据,指出接受几率在0.33—0.36之间的步长可能是合适的。此外还统计了和丙氨酸作用大于2kcal/mol的分子座标,使它们与丙氨酸-水分子径向分布图的峰值相对应。图2表2参9

源真核生物贾第虫与原细菌着丝粒/动粒蛋白的免疫印迹检查

报道了以蓝氏贾第虫(Giardia lamblia)作为源真核生物的代表进行检查, 并与三大枝原细菌(archaebacteria)的代表进行了比较, 贾第虫的着丝粒/动粒蛋白是最接近于原细菌的有关蛋白的。

Entrepreneurial innovation problems associated with the dynamic growth of university spin-outs in China: A capabilities perspective

This research aims to develop a capabilities-based conceptual framework in order to study the stage-specific innovation problems associated with the dynamic growth process of university spin-outs (hereafter referred to as USOs) in China. Based on the existing literature, pilot cases and five critical cases, this study attempts to explore the interconnections between the entrepreneurial innovation problems and the configuration of innovative capabilities (that acquire, mobilise and re-configure the key resources) throughout the lifecycle of a firm in four growth phases. This paper aims to contribute to the literature in a holistic manner by providing a theoretical discussion of USOs' development through adding evidence from a rapid growth emerging economy. To date, studies that have investigated the development of USOs in China recognised the heterogeneity of USOs in terms of capabilities still remain sparse. Addressing this research gap will be of great interest to entrepreneurs, policy makers and venture investors. © Copyright 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.